Chapter 15: Harajuku

{Outer Area of Shibuya: July 16th, 2020, 9:15am}

A faint overcast had drifted in through the night, and by now the weather, even for the summer had turned surprising chilled and dim around Shibuya. The six members of Shinoa's Squad had awoken early that morning, all of them having a strange sense of something not being quite right; however, they chalked it up to being anxious as they had gotten ready, and now were all walking together towards Omotesando Station. Occasionally, they would bump into debris from the years gone by, remaining quiet for the most part as they trekked further away from the safety of the border wall, and further into the desolated city.

While it was partially expected after yesterday's events, the area was silent and a little to peaceful, causing them all to be on guard at this point. Between Yuu and Mika though, it felt as though it wasn't just peaceful and strangely quiet, and the feeling of anxiety hadn't crossed them as being nervous for the assignment, but as their senses picking up on the fact that today, something would happen that was going to greatly change their dynamics as teammates. Sapphire eyes glanced to the black-haired boy who was trying to help navigate them away from any lurking Four Horsemen of John by keeping his Gift active and his eyes and ears sharpened with it. At current, the boy's eyes were a sharp, electric green, having a faint glow to them as he continued to scan the area while the others did the same, staying alert while they continued to walk.

"So, can someone explain what our plan is once we arrive in Omotesando?" Kimizuki asked with a faint yawn.

"Well, with Yuu being able to see in the dark better than the rest of us, it makes sense to put him near the front, he'll be following my leading, then Mika will be behind us with Mitsuba, and that will leave Kimizuki and Yoichi to be our rear-guard. By doing that, we'll cover ourselves fairly well." Shinoa's plan seemed basic, but thorough enough to keep things from getting to out of hand. However, they were wondering about the things lurking within the station more so than their formation plan.

"That sounds great and all, but what about once we arrive in the station?" asked Mika as Mitsuba shot him a glare.

"The plan has to be simple, we don't have the man power to overthrow an entire hoard of Vampires. So, don't attack without the order to draw, don't do anything alone, and do not attack any of the Vampires until you are positive that they are unarmed or a genuine threat. We don't need to lose anyone on our first assignment," Mitsuba's tone was sharp as she kept her eyes locked with Mika who glared back.

"Fine by me, just don't get to full of yourself and get us killed by being too much of a wimp to fight," he stated as he walked a bit ahead and fell into place with his brother.

"Why you little son of a… Hyakuya! Just because Lieutenant Colonel Ichinose raised you doesn't mean you have a right to state those kinds of things to someone whose higher in rank than you!" Mitsuba's tone sharpened, anger clear in her voice.

"Whatever, I hate to break it too you, Sangu, but Yuu and I won't respect you unless you deserve it," the blonde stated as he glanced at the girl over his shoulder.

"Argh… this is why I hate the two of you so much! You're so damn thick-skulled!" Mitsuba roared at the boy who rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Mika, don't pester her too much, okay? We've got more important things to deal with right now." The voice of his brother came to his attention, and Mika sighed as Shinoa stepped towards the boy looking to him as they continued to walk.

"Yuu, are you alright? You look kinda tired," Yoichi pointed this out to his friend who sighed.

"I'm fine, I've just not had this Gift activated for this long before. The time I can take it in full is about sixteen minutes before I start having problems, and it's just me having to adapt to it… well… that and I have all my senses alerted right now because I want to avoid the Horsemen." Shinoa frowned as Mika came up to him.

"You look ill already, maybe you should tone it down some," Mika stated as his brother sighed.

"Well, I didn't want us to run into those Horsemen, if we do, it could alert the fangs to where we are, and we'd be in trouble. There's this really terrible scent I'm getting nearby, so I don't want run into whatever has caused it either…" Shinoa looked at the boy.

"I want you to drop it down to your eyes and ears only. The last time you did this you got a nose bleed, remember? Not to mention you were really sick after it," she informed him.

"Yea, and I remember it scaring the hell out of you." The girl frowned at him.

"Do you really need me to remind you about how sick you got?" she asked as the boy sighed.

"No thanks, I'm good. But, I do appreciate your concern." The periwinkle-haired girl smiled.

"Well, at least I know you listen," she said as the boy frowned slightly, giving her a glance out of the corner of his eyes.

"I've always been listening, Shinoa." The girl's slightly teasing smile eased into a peaceful one.

"That's good to know," she informed him, and he returned her smile.

Mika watched the two of them, and could admit that it was somewhat cute to see them around one another. While he wasn't quite sure if they were together or not, it was slightly relieving to see his brother interacting with another person besides himself, Guren, and the others who helped raise and rehabilitate them. However, if they were together, they did fairly well at keeping it quiet. Sapphire eyes glanced towards Kimizuki who had noted earlier in the their last few days at school that it seemed something had been going on between Yuuichiro and Shinoa, and even Yoichi had noticed it as well. Sighing, the blonde turned his attention to Mitsuba and thought about how at odds he and his brother were with the blonde.

While he did see where a lot of her behavior came from – seeing as she had been a member of the Moon Demon Company since age thirteen – that didn't mean he agreed with it. Both he and his brother had grown up in the army's care, constantly being trained by Guren and his team, recovering, learning, existing for the last four years amongst the army and the guidance of their parental guardian. They had only ever really known the life of someone who had lived as a soldier, and nothing more. Yuuichiro had taken to the combative life with ease, and had learned how to adapt normalcy from it due to Sayuri, Mito, Goshi, and Shigure while Mika personally had taken a bit of time to adapt to it, but had accepted it just as quickly.

Their lives had always been the Japanese Imperial Demon Army and training to one day become a member of the Moon Demon Company. That was all they had been since they were found in the snow four years ago, so when Guren had put them on probation, made them come to high school and exist amongst the others there of the same age as them: it felt uncomfortable. To them, it was a foreign place, with people who viewed them in interest, which quickly turned to fear because of their lives up to that point. Mika sighed, wondering why it was that they found Mitsuba so frustrating when they honestly didn't even know her story nor did she know theirs.

"Maybe it's because we're to similar… or it's because she takes things to seriously… I don't know…"

Shinoa continued to walk with her team, preparing for their invasion – however small it could be – on Omotesando station while she ran a conversation through her mind. Earlier, yesterday evening, Shinoa had confided her plans in her boyfriend, and asked his opinion on the following day's events. She had discussed with him her concerns and whether or not retreating would be an option. Of all the things that Shinoa had expected, his response, had not been one of them. He had dismissed the notion instantly, but with a good reason that he went on to divulge to her. His opinion of the situation was that if they were to retreat, the Vampires would move, leaving them with no outs, and more than likely, a failed mission on their hands, which would not do them any favors. What was more, the Vampires could potentially tail them and corner them once they were out in the open with little options left for them.

Needless to say, Shinoa was far beyond impressed by the boy's aptitude, and his rational answer. Normally, Yuuichiro was brash, fierce, and rather mouthy about things; however, she had begun to notice that when he was approached with a tactical situation, he would reign in his normally hyper personality and think through the pros and cons of the situation. It was something that had bewildered her to a great degree; nonetheless, it proved to the periwinkle-haired girl that the black-haired boy was quite a talented tactician, even though it seemed he was attempting to hide it.

"He was right… if we become accustomed to running, then that's all we'll ever be able to do. This mission is a chance to prove ourselves before things get to serious in Shinjuku, a place where Guren assured us he would need all hands-on deck. This means that Guren knows that Shinjuku is going to be bad." Shinoa recanted this information from the boy in her mind and found herself agreeing even further with his statement.

"So, when we get there, you want us to form the formation you told about, and then what? Head down the slope and attack the Vamps?" asked Yoichi.

"No, hopefully they'll be sleeping right now, and we can catch them by surprise. I want to get out of the situation with our job completed, and as few injuries as possible. Do you understand, Hyakuya?" Mitsuba answered while Shinoa sighed and the blonde looked at the two brothers.

"Coming out without a single severe injury or fatality sounds fine to me." Emerald eyes glanced away as the blonde-haired girl glared.

"Do I make myself clear Hyakuya?" she asked again.

"We understand you, if we hadn't, then we wouldn't have answered." Mika shot her a withering look and Shinoa gave her boyfriend a nervous smile.

"Those two aren't going to get along… dammit… this isn't good for morale," Shinoa thought as the black-haired boy next to her shook his head, almost as if he was dismissing any ideas she could come up with.

"Just focus, it'll work out when it counts," he assured her, eyes turning forward as she sighed.

"Alright…"

{Omotesando Station: 10:00am}

The station was dim, dark, and cold like a pit. Not a single trace of warmth was within the destroyed tram way now being slowly overtaken by nature again. The walls were starting to grow moss, the grass was peaking in between the tiles of the floors, and the metal within the place had begun to rust. It showed somewhat how it once was; however, it mattered very little at this point, seeing as no humans save for livestock and refugees existed outside of the walled off portions of the cities. The entire place, as of current seemed to be void of life as they walked further down the area and towards the first location where they could find their way to area B where, according to their intel, was where the Vampires were supposed to be.

As they treaded further into the place, Mika and Yuu had begun recalling some of the events from their four years within the walls of Sanguneim, and the industrial, gothic standing of the place that was nothing like this hellhole. The group descended further, Yuuichiro keeping his eyes lit up so he could keep track of where they were going, and guide them a bit easier. However, as they entered the main area, they found themselves momentarily pausing as he laid eyes on what was before them alongside the others. The area was full of not Vampires, or rodents, not even smaller Horsemen of John, instead, it was scattered about in odd clusters with people in white medical-lab styled clothes.

Around the throats of the people were dark blue chokers with gray-metallic tags. The blue fabric around their necks matched the same material around their wrists and ankles, their shoes beige, and simple slip ons. The group eyed them while the two brothers felt a faint sense of unease as they watched the people. Upon those chokers were I.D tags, something that the Vampires used to keep track of their livestock. Both the boys felt a sudden weight to their throats, reminding them that they currently were wearing those tags on chokers as well. It had been a scheme of Guren's to keep all their personal information on them and let them carry them on their persons should needs be. However, watching those people, huddled together with fearful looks within their eyes, and sallow faces, both Yuuichiro and Mikaela felt as though the chokers were more akin to strangle-holds that made them feel ill as they recalled the past.

"What is this?" questioned Kimizuki.

"I don't know… " Mitsuba eyed the area while Shinoa did as well alongside Yoichi; however, two of them didn't keeping their gazes down as they felt the echo of their pasts ring within their minds.

"Why are these people down here?" asked Yoichi.

"Are you telling me that you've never seen what the Vampire's livestock wears?" all eyes went to Mika while his brother kept his gaze down.

"Livestock? So, these people are…" the brunette suddenly looked ill.

"Vampires keep anyone they can find as livestock, and take blood from them periodically in exchange for food, shelter, and protection from the monsters that are outside of these little safe havens, if that's what you want to call them," Yuuichiro spoke up, causing Mika to give his brother a concerned look, only for the boy to shake his head.

"How would you know?" asked Mitsuba while the other blonde ignored her, and they began walking again.

"That's sick…" Mika glanced to Kimizuki and the others who were well aware of their pasts before sighing as he heard his brother take in a faintly shaky breath.

"This sure brings back memories, compared to this rat hole… that city was an industrialized paradise, huh Mika?" the black-haired boy asked.

"Yea… it was…" Mitsuba frowned.

"What are the two of you talking about?" she asked sharply.

"Mitsu, now isn't the time," Shinoa interjected, giving the girl a stern look, causing the blonde to bite her lip as she looked at the two brothers.

"I don't like how they're acting… why is it that these two seem so… off? It's like they know more than they're letting on… both of them…"

"Fine…" Yoichi looked around them.

"Why don't they just run?" Kimizuki questioned.

"Because, despite the fact that they're being used as a food source, they're safe. The streets outside are flooded with giant monsters. Not to mention, they probably only feed them enough to keep them living, but not enough to give them the strength to really do much else." The brunette looked to his friend who was scanning the area around them carefully, glowing acid-green eyes flickering this way and that to keep an eye on their surroundings.

"Are there any fangs around?" Shinoa asked.

"No, there aren't any of them around…" Mitsuba looked at the boy.

"What about hearing? Did you sense them or anything else?" she inquired as the boy glanced her way, locking those admittedly terrifying eyes on her.

"There are Vampires here, just not where we are." The others nodded, the answer was good enough for them.

"Okay then, let's keep going," Shinoa stated as they continued to walk down the tunnels.

The walk down those tunnels were a bit harder to stomach than the group wanted to openly admit. Between the mix of people looking as though they were rather hungry or ill, they were also met with looks of fear and confusion as they went by and it made the four of them that hadn't grown up in the clutches of the Vampires wonder what they thought of them. Did they think they were here to harm them? Were they angry because somehow they knew that they were here to take them away from the only stable thing in their morbid existences? Or was it something more? As they continued to walk, Shinoa felt the gravity of it all as her mind replayed how many times she and the others had spoken to Yuuichiro and Mikaela about their lives in the Vampire City, and how painful those conversations had possibly been.

The idea hurt so much she wanted to cry; however, the moment she bit into her bottom lip and tears threatened to spill from her eyes, a gentle hand touched her lower arm. Tangerine eyes met electric-green ones as Yuuichiro gave her a small smile, assuring her, and granting her the support she needed in the face of this unknown situation. Shinoa relaxed, almost immediately and regained her composure as they made it to an area that had bars coming up from the ground to stop people from entering the area. It was something that like most of the things in this place, had been there for a long time, and had begun to rust.

In the center of the room, stood a large pile of rubble from where the roof had fallen in, allowing sunlight to stream in through the hole. Atop it, plants and grass had begun to grow due to sunlight and rainfall of the last four years. The group looked around and found themselves alone for a moment. However, in the stillness, their hearts and breathing seemed almost impossibly loud, causing them to become anxious and look around as if expecting the shadows to reach out and snatch them up. in those few sparse moments though, the rustle of fabric and the click of shoe soles accompanied by the clink of metal caught their attention. The group looked around and waited, hoping that if it were to be an enemy, it wouldn't be anything above the run of the mill Vampire, and not a Noble.

A white cloaked figure walked across the way and between the pillars. The vampire was wearing its hood up, signifying to Mika and Yuu that they weren't Nobility nor higher ranked, and because of that, it eased their tension a fraction. The vampire as it drew closer to the hole in the roof paused, sniffing the area slightly before looking up at them, locking eyes with the group of six.

"Prepare to draw!" Mitsuba made the call and weapons manifested into the grasps of their masters, the slight sound of scathing voices rang within the air in a wicked manner, the Demons within their weapons singing their joy of being used for carnage on the field of battle as the group prepared.

"Don't let it call for back up!" the blonde girl ordered as the Vampire glared.

"Filthy livestock!" the Vampire hissed at them and drew it's weapon, the group prepared to attack; however, in the time that the Vampire took a step forward, Mitsuba realized that someone had already moved, startling her somewhat as she saw Yuuichiro leap over the kiosk area and hit the ground running, blade drawn as the group realized that the boy had bypassed them like a bullet shot from a gun. The sound of his boots clacking against the ground was all they registered as not a moment later, the Vampire let out a pained gasp and they looked to see the black-haired boy had ran the creature through.

"How does it feel to be killed by your food, you bastard?" emerald eyes looked up into the eyes of the Vampire, unafraid to stare the monster he was about to kill in the face.

"Damn you, you'll pay for this," the vampire stated.

"Burn in hell!" Yuuichiro shifted his blade upwards, the curse activating as he turned on his heels in a pivot and raised the sword forward, his back turned to the Vampire as it vanished into ash.

"One down," Mika muttered as he hopped over the kiosk and wen towards him while the others soon followed.

"Damn you… Yuuichiro! How many times do I have to tell you that you –"Mitsuba had approached with her hand raised to strike the black-haired boy; however, he startled her somewhat when he caught it.

"I waited for the draw signal, I assessed the enemy, and I stopped him before he contacted back-up. I followed the rules, you're the one who keeps –" he paused, eyes going to behind her as he jerked her forward, her cheeks turning red against her own will as he pushed her aside and blocked the blade of another Vampire while she gaped at the scene and the others approached, remaining on guard as the black-haired boy remained in his stance.

"Don't think just because you beat one of us that we're all – "Yuuichiro turned his eyes onto the Vampire.

"Shut your mouth!" he sliced through the Vampire, breaking its sword into as he cut the creature in half and it vanished into ash, surprising Mitsuba even further.

"Wow! That was amazing! I knew that you and Mika were fairly strong as a team, but I had no idea that you had this much power on your own, Yuu!" Shinoa clapped as she praised the boy who gave her a faint smile.

"Why would you think Yuu was weak?" Mitsuba gawked as Mika gave the periwinkle-haired girl a long look and she mere smiled.

"That was pretty good, you're almost as strong as me, midget," Kimizuki stated.

"Almost as good? Let's go, right here, you and me." The pink-haired seventeen-year-old scoffed.

"You would be dead before you got your sword out, short-stack," he stated.

"Wanna be four-eyes?!" Kimizuki glared.

"I dare you to call me that again!" the pink-haired teen said.

"Four-eyes!" Shinoa giggled as Mitsuba watched Yoichi and Mika try and calm the two down while the girls observed them.

"Where did all that power come from?" Mitsuba asked as Shinoa smiled.

"Yuuichiro and Mikaela both are very skilled in combat, they have a few special skills all their own as well. Because they're a little different, Guren trained him and Mika to be capable fighters, but they, Yoichi, and Kimizuki are his favorites: a group of trouble-makers who are bad a teamwork. They're probably on this team with us so that we can whip them into shape and teach them become better soldiers." Lavender eyes turned to the teenagers.

"I… think I get it. There's not supposed to be anymore Vampires here, so, we should probably start heading back and tell the Company that there are civilians here so they can send in the recovery teams." Kimizuki looked at the others.

"Yea, I think so too. Let's go before something else happens," he said.

"Do you remember what happened last time you said that?" the others looked to the emerald-eyed boy.

"So? That was a fluke! Don't just assume that every time I say something like that then – "

In all of a blink of an eye, the glass nearby them shattered, and the group turned as more vampires swarmed them, and their weapons were raised as the group bunched together, knowing that they were in trouble. Kimizuki sighed as he glanced at the black-haired boy who shot him a long look before turning his attention back to the Vampires that were surrounding them. They were outnumbered, and it was little more than terrifying; however, they would have to fight, and they had no choice, but to win.

The vampires charged them, and they retaliated as swiftly as possible. The strikes were hard and fast, making it difficult to keep up with so many of them as they split up, trying to make more room for each of them to attack. Mika jumped, cutting a slight flip as he caught two of them with Fenrir's gleaming-blue blade, lessening the numbers of the opposing combatants, but not weakening their assault. The blonde glanced to his brother who nodded, knowing without a word that the two of them were thinking the same thing: those first two were a diversion, this group was aware of their plans, because they had been informed by the Vampires from yesterday, and had rallied troops to do one thing specifically: eliminate them.

Shinoa turned, spinning her scythe to throw off three of the Vampires and slice through them as she began eyeing the numbers within the area. Compared to the six of them, there were at least five for each of them to deal with, and the notion did nothing but cause her heart to race and anxiety to knot in the pit of her stomach. She had to think fast, what could they do? If something didn't turn the tides of this battle soon, they wouldn't stand a chance. Emerald eyes glanced her way as the boy locked blades with the Vampire nearest to him, and Shinoa bit her lip in uncertainty.

If Yuu were to use his Gift at full force against the Vampire they were facing off against now, it would strengthen their chances of survival; however, it would deplete his energy and what was more, if they were to run into a Noble, they would be completely defenseless if they had to attack. Tangerine eyes looked to him as they were all thrown back together and locked eyes with their enemy as they were circled once more.

"Shinoa… I can use it, and that will give us some leverage on this…" she glanced around them.

"I-I don't…" she paused.

"Shinoa, we don't have time to doubt our teammates, come on," Mika assured her, tightening his grip upon Fenrir's hilt.

"Are you sure? Yuu?" the others looked at the two of them momentarily before returning their gazes to the Vampires who were beginning to draw closer.

"Positive," he stated, his grip tensing on his sword as she took in a deep breath.

"Alright, Yuuichiro, use it. As for the rest of you: strike hard, don't let any of them escape!"

Those within the immediate area surrounding the black-haired boy felt a terrifying chill crawl up their spines as Mika and Shinoa stepped back a bit, giving the boy a bit of room as a slightly sadistic smirk appeared upon his lips as he looked up at the Vampires as his eyes flashed an acidic green before he braced his sword, and charged with an increased speed, taking the others off guard as he shouted at the Vampires, displaying fangs at them and startling them once more. The others took the chance to attack the Vampires and went after them in sets of two. Shinoa tag-teamed with Yuuichiro, covering his back while he did the same for her as Yoichi and Kimizuki went after another group on the far left and then Mika and Mitsuba went towards another group on the far right.

The vampires showed quite a bit of fear when they realized that the black-haired boy was not only keeping up with them, but matching their strength with little difficulty. The others were also gaining ground over the fangs that they were dealing with as the group of six attacked them onwards. Shinoa spun on her heel, slicing the Vampires that had come for her into nothing but ashes and then she immediately went back into the fray.

Yoichi struck the Vampire nearest to Kimizuki with little trouble as the pink-haired teenager worked on those to his right while the two blondes backed one another up, striking the ones that were closer towards the broken mirrors. Both Mitsuba's axe, and Mika's sword making swift work of the hoard. The blonde-haired sixteen-year-old was certain they were going to win without much difficulty, and he had no concerns about their ability to complete this mission until he turned to look at his brother.

Despite the fact that he was still fighting, the black-haired boy was breathing hard, almost as if he was struggling. His skin was paling, and his body would give off occasional shivers, indicating that his body was suffering under the strain and that it was catching up with him quickly. The boy pushed himself though, managing to take out a good number of the Vampires despite his rough breathing and the shaking grip on the sword. Mika broke off from Mitsuba and covered the others momentarily as Mitsuba skipped back, swinging her axe before falling back with him, knowing that they needed to lead the remaining Vampires into a group. Mika's sapphire eyes remained in his brother as best they could, noting strangely that there was a faint red hue to the boy's left eye as he pushed through while the others continued to fight around him. Mitsuba cut down another Vampire and the others went to focusing on what was happening around them until there was a sharp cough and a loud splatter of blood. Instantly, all eyes went to the green-eyed boy who clapped a hand over his mouth as he coughed again, blood slipping between his fingers as he went to his knees.

"Yuu!" Shinoa covered his form with her scythe as the others converged on their teammate ad one of the Vampires began to laugh while Mika crouched down to his brother who coughed again, another stream of blood coming up with it, his eyes going from sharp electric-green to a dimmed emerald that upon closer inspection by the blonde had taken on the same red hue he'd seen in his left eye. Now, both of his eyes were tinged faint red around the pupils, which caused a red flag to come up as the blonde remained by his side.

"Is he alright?" asked Kimizuki as the black-haired boy coughed, both hands going down to the ground to balance himself as he tried to clear his throat and only coughed again, and more blood came up.

"I don't know, Yuu… come on, please… answer me." Mika tried to get the boy to speak, but he only shook his head, looking sickly and pale as he tried to get his bearings.

"That was interesting, tell me boy, what are you exactly? You smell quite a bit like us," stated a gray-haired vampire, the same one who had fought against them yesterday as emerald-eyes, with their crimson-rimmed pupils narrowed.

"Fuck off!" he snapped, bearing bloodied teeth at them.

"He's clearly at least half-human. Maybe he's one of those half-breeds from the cities?" the female from yesterday approached, her flowing caramel colored hair falling across her shoulder as she looked at the group of six with the same red eyes. Her statement had gotten Mitsuba and the others to look questioningly at the two brothers as Mika shot the Vampires a glare while Yuu coughed again before glaring at the creatures.

"Like hell! I'm human, you acerbic fucks," he growled out.

"Oh… then you must be a Psychometric User or maybe you're an Exaction?"

"Regardless, it's fairly clear that he and the boy next to him are a bit different," a scratch voice spoke this and the two brothers looked to one another with an anxious gaze.

"Mika hasn't copied yet; however, he has a few abilities that will show in his physical capabilities at this point… shit…" Yuuichiro thought as he watched the Vampires, feeling the pain of his Gift slowly ebbing away in the edges of his mind.

"I don't see it, but I can definitely feel it. Whatever the two of you may be, it is indeed interesting. I bet the Queen would enjoy having them as her personal pets," stated one of them, the group hovering close to one another in this situation.

"Oh yes, and they're rather pretty…." Mika felt his brother flinch, a faint tremble coming from him as the undertone the Vampire used read loud and clear to them both.

"I bet she would adore them. She might even turn them, just so she can have some company, she does love pretty things after all," said the female.

"Fine then, capture the black-haired one, and the blonde… kill the rest."

In that instant, hell descended upon them; however, what startled the other four was the fierce behavior of Mika who guarded his brother until he could stand, but never left his side at this point as the black-haired boy started attacking the Vampires, a glare evident upon his face as the two of them worked together while the others fanned out to help. Still, even though Yuuichiro had started to feel the backlash of his Gift fade, his body was still reeling from the shock of coughing up that much blood, and him pushing himself even more physically was starting to send his body into a panicked state.

The notion of what the Vampire's conversation had meant, what could happen if they failed here, was something that terrified him as he thought of the past before he and Mika had escaped. Through those four years, Mika had always shielded the younger members of their family, just as he and Akane had; however, Mika couldn't always shield them, and that included Yuuichiro himself, from what the vampires did. The black-haired boy shook his head, his ears ringing as he blocked another hit that felt as though he was attempting to stop an entire mountain top from falling upon him as he pushed back, his breathing loud in his ears, his blood pumping, and his heart pounding as he shakily took in a breath while he tried to focus as his head began to throb, letting him know that he was over exerting his body.

Despite the physical warnings though, he knew that he had to keep fighting. If he didn't fight, then the others would die, and he and Mika would return to that living hell they had escaped from four years ago. Another moment from the past rang within his mind and he shook it away, charging forward as he kept struggling against the Vampires, a blade nicked his arm and he hissed in pain and sliced through the Vampire while the others tried to keep going as well. The back and forth was taking its toll upon them, and he could tell by their ragged breaths and slight sway that a couple of them had, including himself.

"I can barely focus, my vision is blurry, and my heart is racing to fast… we can't keep this up…"

"Don't push your body to much, that Gift of yours will make you pay for it with something I doubt you're willing to give up." Asuramaru's voice rang within his mind and he tried to center himself, but couldn't.

They were swarmed, the noise of weapons clashing was enough to make his ears hurt as he glanced to Shinoa who was holding her own against the Vampires as was Mika and the others. His slightly dim eyes locked onto the fangs that had turned towards him and he narrowed his gaze at them as they went from emerald to electric green and they froze as he growled, his body shivering as he swung his sword outwards, destroying them as his heard Asuramaru grumble at him for activating the Gift again. A sharp pain went through him, almost like an electrical buzz and he tensed as he shook his head, the Gift deactivating instantly.

It was in that second that a terrifying scream fell into the air around them as the splatter of blood caught up with it and Shinoa's voice was ripped into reality in a terrifying sound. Emerald eyes wide, he looked towards one of his teammates as he watched them drop to the floor, blood seeping out as they gripped the deep wound in their stomach that was bubbling up blood. One of the vampires began laughing, and in that second, rage boiled in his blood, aggression taking over his sense of reason as his mind began to race, his form giving off faint tremors as the others stared onward in horror at the situation.

{….}

You're the sun, you're the day…

{…..}

Author's Note: Cliff hanger, I know, I am an evil creature who deserves punishment; however, if that were to happen, you wouldn't get any more stories from this series. So, let's put the torches down and click the next page button instead, okay? Alright, well, Harajuku is almost done, and then we'll be moving onto the other stuff, okay? Well, tell me what you think.

Sincerely,

ShadowDragon94.

Chapter 16: Healer